Listen now | Today’s movie is Primer written, produced and directed by Shane Carruth. Primer is one of the most impressive independent small-budget films ever made. There’s a lot to admire about this movie. At the same time, it has some shortcomings that ultimately leave it feeling a bit hollow, which we discuss in this episode.
You guys described this perfectly. One of the few movies I had seen before hand and it seems to me to be a very good bad film. This also a perfect test for pretentious movie snobs because some people will tell you that they understood everything and it's a genius movie but I didn't get that sense. This feels more like a very cool idea that become too hard to handle eventually but funnily I don't think that the movie would have been better served by dumbing it down.
So I loved this film, especially when I watched it back in the day, but really enjoying this analysis of its flaws, good points about some of the flaws in the manner in which the story is presented, and how it misses out on deeply exploring aspects.
19:00 - You mention that the characters killed other versions of themselves, what made you think that they killed them? The way I've always understood this is that they drugged themselves so that they could take over for that time period. We see their drugged versions waking up later on - one wakes up in the attic, and through the movie the wife character had mentioned hearing an animal in the attic, so it all lines up there. Killing themselves would have been pretty psychotic, and would have been pretty unbelievable given their characters I think!
30:00 - Regarding box inside of a box, I think that was just so another box could be set up after it was brought back. Meaning you could go back in time, set up the second box, and then turn it on.. Yeah that was a fairly convoluted part.
Here is the obligatory guide for the film, which will answer everything! Though it is possibly more cryptic than the film.
So as I think I mentioned in the review, I am mostly not sure what is happening for the majority of the film (beyond the very obvious things). I actually have no idea if the characters killed the other versions of themselves or not, I just assumed they did because they showed how distraught they were afterward. If they were merely drugging themselves, I am not sure I understand why they would be so emotionally affected. I assumed that the character breaking out of the attic was just a failed attempt at a kill, where perhaps they thought their double had died but actually hadn't... again, because the alternative makes no sense to me (why would you put someone in the attic if you knew they were going to wake up again later??)
This is why my main complaint with the movie is not really structural, because I _assume_ it would all make logical sense if I sat down to work it all out based on the available clues. Rather, I find I don't really like the movie more because I don't get into it, so I don't feel motivated to actually do the mental work of piecing it all together.
Gotcha. Yeah I'll say on retrospect, even my understanding of the drugging has a big hole in it.. being that for the drugging to work, they'd have to knock them out for a whole week, which is a logistical challenge to which the film has no input on how the characters do that..
I took the emotional response of the character after the gassing scene as a reaction to the failed attempt to gas himself in his sleep, but instead he wakes up, and he has to essentially assault himself, which is pretty creepy... Especially since another version of himself could do the same to him.
You guys described this perfectly. One of the few movies I had seen before hand and it seems to me to be a very good bad film. This also a perfect test for pretentious movie snobs because some people will tell you that they understood everything and it's a genius movie but I didn't get that sense. This feels more like a very cool idea that become too hard to handle eventually but funnily I don't think that the movie would have been better served by dumbing it down.
So I loved this film, especially when I watched it back in the day, but really enjoying this analysis of its flaws, good points about some of the flaws in the manner in which the story is presented, and how it misses out on deeply exploring aspects.
19:00 - You mention that the characters killed other versions of themselves, what made you think that they killed them? The way I've always understood this is that they drugged themselves so that they could take over for that time period. We see their drugged versions waking up later on - one wakes up in the attic, and through the movie the wife character had mentioned hearing an animal in the attic, so it all lines up there. Killing themselves would have been pretty psychotic, and would have been pretty unbelievable given their characters I think!
30:00 - Regarding box inside of a box, I think that was just so another box could be set up after it was brought back. Meaning you could go back in time, set up the second box, and then turn it on.. Yeah that was a fairly convoluted part.
Here is the obligatory guide for the film, which will answer everything! Though it is possibly more cryptic than the film.
https://unrealitymag.com/at-last-a-definitive-timeline-for-primer/
So as I think I mentioned in the review, I am mostly not sure what is happening for the majority of the film (beyond the very obvious things). I actually have no idea if the characters killed the other versions of themselves or not, I just assumed they did because they showed how distraught they were afterward. If they were merely drugging themselves, I am not sure I understand why they would be so emotionally affected. I assumed that the character breaking out of the attic was just a failed attempt at a kill, where perhaps they thought their double had died but actually hadn't... again, because the alternative makes no sense to me (why would you put someone in the attic if you knew they were going to wake up again later??)
This is why my main complaint with the movie is not really structural, because I _assume_ it would all make logical sense if I sat down to work it all out based on the available clues. Rather, I find I don't really like the movie more because I don't get into it, so I don't feel motivated to actually do the mental work of piecing it all together.
- Casey
Gotcha. Yeah I'll say on retrospect, even my understanding of the drugging has a big hole in it.. being that for the drugging to work, they'd have to knock them out for a whole week, which is a logistical challenge to which the film has no input on how the characters do that..
I took the emotional response of the character after the gassing scene as a reaction to the failed attempt to gas himself in his sleep, but instead he wakes up, and he has to essentially assault himself, which is pretty creepy... Especially since another version of himself could do the same to him.
Anyways, looking forward to the next film!